...from Carrol Ayer of the CAMP User Group
The Great Online Bargain Hunt
by Carrol Ayer
Does purchasing software at lower than half the retail price appeal to you? I’ve
had great luck (and a good time) buying unregistered and used software at tremendously
reduced prices via the Classified sections of America On Line (AOL). You can do it
too– read on!
This article deals only with the area of software for sale online. The classifieds
also include a full range of new and used computers, peripheral devices and all manner
of related computer stuff, plus (to mention a few sample items) cars, trucks, real
estate sales and rentals, and many types of services.
Getting started.
To access the electronic classifieds you’ll need membership in one of the online
services such as Compuserve, AOL or the web, a computer, Mac or PC plus a modem and
the related software. On the other hand, a friend with this equipment will do nicely
if they’ll lend their on-line time to do this. On-line time for commercial services
is roughly $3 an hour. You could offer a trade of homemade apple pie for the time–hey,
it would work with me!
Before diving right in I highly recommend reading the documents at the start of the
classifieds on AOL (keyword is ‘Classified’) to get their sound advice regarding
buying online. I found these very helpful. Review their “Safe Trading Tips” and
“Buyer Beware Notice” on how to limit your exposure to the risk of being ripped off
during email transactions. [Most online classified departments have their own disclaimers.]
Cooks tour!
First off, the AOL classified section has more help and instructions than the eW
section. Also, it’s huge. According to AOL, the “Industry Analyst Cowles-Simba ...
Electronic Marketplace Report newsletter (Vol 8, # 18, p. 1) reviewed the three major
online service classifieds areas and declared AOL the best due to ease-of-use, cost,
and traffic”.
My brief analysis of the AOL classified area concluded there were 22 subsections
contained within 6 folders, titled “Mac Trading Area, PC Trading Area, Other Computers,
General Merchandise, Business and Jobs Postings and Other Ad Areas”. There are also
additional subareas within some of the folders. By my count there were 35,000+ ads.
This is a huge market place by any measure. Fortunately, the number of postings within
the folders averages about 250. A search icon (button) provided allows one to look
at the most recent posts within whatever time period is specified.
Why buy on line?
I bought an unregistered version of ClarisWorks v4.0 for $20 less than the retail
upgrade price from v3.0. I saved the equivalent of two months of my on-line subscription
fee by buying software on line. The volume of items for sale on line is large and
one can quickly judge the going price for an item. This price will usually be significantly
less than the retail price. The range of items for sale is likewise huge so you should
be able to find what you need within a few minutes after using the automated search
capabilities of either service.
Software offered by private parties and by some businesses is usually dickerable.
Some readers may well be thinking; gee, maybe I could buy an unregistered version
of PageMaker 6.0 for $50?! The chance of getting such a buy is very remote and one
rule of thumb always in operation is "If the deal sounds too good to be true
it probably is!" A degree of wariness is important.
Who sells on line?
Most of the software I’ve found is owned by private parties, folks like you and me.
Some folks are in transition ie; major job moves, divorces, etc. Ads are also made
by businesses. Usually it’s clear when a business is making the offer. Items for
sale are organized by subject and are listed according to the date they were posted
on line. The most recent item is listed first. The lists include "want"
or "sell" so you can easily skip one or the other or even simply open a
single item of interest.
Lets make a deal!
The "how" of buying on line resembles the “how” of face to face offers.
The seller makes a statement in their on line ad asking, for instance, $30 for Claris
Works 3.0.
A good ad will include important detail indicating if the software is unregistered
or if the package is "original, unopened". Usually, an unregistered or
unopened package of software may be worth more to the buyer because unregistered
software can be upgraded by the new owner at the special upgrade price offered by
the manufacturer.
The buyer meets the seller’s price or makes a counter offer which is accepted or
rejected and so it goes, back and forth. I have yet to receive a counter offer from
a seller. Usually they accept my offer or simply reject it.
Less obvious is the fact that the offer and counter offer are usually accomplished
via email. The beauty of email is that it’s done without long distance phone charges
and you have a record of the process, if you kept copies of your email correspondence
on your hard drive.
Ok, call ‘em!
I almost always get the sellers’ phone number and call to confirm the deal. The phone
call to the seller is a key ingredient in achieving the degree of comfort and trust
necessary for the deal to be completed. As a buyer, I assume the software is operable
and/or truly unregistered as represented. The phone call to the seller confirms the
accuracy of the ad or the seller gets to correct it over the phone. The telephone
call also provides a method of measuring or weighing the tone of the seller which
is important information to help decide to go through with the purchase or not.
Check ‘em out some more!
Further checks are really important to establishing an even greater degree of confidence.
Does the seller or buyer have a full and adult sounding on-line profile? Knowing
the home community of the seller and the phone number they provided, call Information
and confirm that the official number corresponds with the info provided to you. Get
a work phone number and call there to again confirm their identity
The check’s in the mail!
The amount of money involved in the transaction determines the degree of caution
to be applied. The greater the total amount of money involved, the higher the risk
to me as a buyer so, naturally, I become more cautious. Reassuringly, this is true
for the seller as well.
Cautiousness can take several forms. Often the seller will use COD delivery of the
software, which assures me that I get the product before I pay out any money. Occasionally
I insist the seller send me the product before I send a check. I do not use a check
book, I use money orders or bank checks and I provide this information up front to
the seller. I think it significantly decreases the seller’s anxiety about the possibility
of receiving a rubber check. I make it clear that I will first install the software
to assure that it works before I send the check.
In the latter scenario the seller will confirm by email that the package has been
sent. For my part I’ll have a check prepared in advance and will advise the seller
the check is ready. By this time I have a good sense that the deal will go as agreed
and so far, I have not had experience to the contrary.
Stop!
Each buy or sell situation has been and will be different based upon a variety of
factors such as the amount of money involved, the method of payment, etc. If you
have any doubts about the transaction or if it seems or becomes too difficult or
otherwise begins to sour, then STOP, don’t go through with it. You will not have
to wait long for another offer of the same or similar item. Lastly, to get the best
deal possible when purchasing (almost anything, anywhere) one must be absolutely
willing to walk away from the whole thing.
The big finish!
Buying software or hardware on line provides for great deals irrespective of where
a person resides. Residents from rural areas can access a large marketplace to sell
or buy on the same footing as a city dweller. Buying on line provides access to large
numbers of software and hardware sellers and buyers. Software and hardware can be
bought at well below retail prices resulting in significant savings that would otherwise
not be likely.
To the seller, on line ads get your item out quickly in front of a large number of
motivated buyers in highly saturated geographic locals to sparsely populated areas
of rural states at no extra cost.
My best buy, for the month of August 1995, occurred when I bought the renowned Claris
Impact v 1.0 for $15 and shipping. A new edition of CI v 2.0 had just been released
with an upgrade price of $69! The earlier version came complete with an updater.
I was impressed with CI v1.0 because its organizational charting program had been
reviewed as being the best available. I didn't want it badly enough to run out and
spend a lot of bucks to get it. Rather, I waited. I don’t get much call to produce
organizational charts so I was not in a hell-bent rush. My patience was rewarded!
I was able to pay my membership fee in the CAMP User Group with the money I saved!
Good hunting to you too.
If you have an interesting anecdote regarding your own online classified ad experience
please forward it to my email address :
carrollaa@AOL.com
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